Cadaver transport in large river systems: winter case study in the South Saskatchewan River

Abstract

An average of 518 drownings occur in Canada per year but few studies measured post-mortem submersion for cadavers and those studies are limited to warm areas of Europe and US. In our current study we deployed a pig cadaver in the South Saskatchewan River system in winter to monitor distance traveled and timing under ice conditions using radio-telemetry. We monitored accumulated degree days before bloating in the cadaver to estimate timing of emersion in winter drowning victims. Post-mortem submersion interval of the cadaver was relatively long (∼94 days) with an accumulated degree day estimate of ∼ 311 °C, and ultimately ∼189.9 km travelled. Our results suggest that winter drowning victims may remain at their point of disappearance for a substantial longer time compared to warmer regions; thereby providing adequate searching time to locate bodies shortly after disappearance.